Health starts in the gut. When populated with good bacteria, the bad bacteria in our gut are less likely to thrive and cause inflammation, damaging the integrity of our intestinal walls and reducing nutrients absorption, all leading leading to illness. Ensuring that your baby’s gut is healthy at an early age will support a stronger immune system in the long term.
- A healthy digestive system in mum-to-be will more likely result in healthy bacterial colonisation of baby’s GI tract.
It seems that baby inherits the strains of bacteria that first populate his gut directly from his mother’s digestive system. Adopting a healthy, nutritious diet during pregnancy with plenty of fresh fruits (blue and purple ones and pith of citrus fruits especially as they’re rich in flavonoids for healthy capillaries) and vegetables-preferably organic- and low in sugar, refined, processed foods is therefore a good idea, even ideally prior to conception. Increasing intake of anti-inflammatory, gut healing foods is also helpful (oily fish, olive & coconut oil, garlic & onion, spices such as turmeric & cinnamon etc).
2. Aim for a vaginal birth
Babies born vaginally have been found to have higher levels of bifidobacteria (a gut “friendly bacteria”) associated with proper gut function and lower incidence of infection of GI caused by harmful bacteria when compared to babies born by C-section.
Needless to say that cesarian birth is sometimes inevitable and/or life saving in certain cases.
But in the event of a straight forward birth, there are certain things that have been found helpful in maximising the chances of a vaginal birth such as avoiding an early induction, avoiding epidurals (it decreases the springy nature of pelvic floors making it more difficult for baby’s head to come out), choice of birth position (lying on back Vs on all 4s, squatting etc), active pregnancy,labour and birth, using a doula or birth partner and any activity that may increase your confidence in your body’s ability to give birth can all play a positive part.
3. Practice skin-to-skin after birth
One of the many benefits of practicing skin-to-skin with baby as soon as possible after birth is that baby is exposed to his mothers bacteria rather than anybody else's in the room. The colonisation by his mother’s bacteria has a protective effect on baby, lessening chances of infection in their familiar environment.
4. Breasfeed if possible
Babies are born with “leaky” guts meaning that the integrity of their intestinal wall only happens around 4-6 months of age, and happens earlier in breastfed babies than bottle fed babies. This means that until “gut closure” occurs, proteins and other large disease promoting molecules can escape into their bloodstream, increasing incidence of allergies, food intolerances and illness.
Colostrum (day 1 to 3 breastmilk) coats the intestinal walls with a protective layer, reducing “leakage”. Breast milk is thereafter a rich source of protective bifidobacterium infantis.
Please note that breastmilk may be low in B. Infantis if the mother has had courses of antibiotics, steroids or contraceptive pill and/or a poor diet.
In such cases, taking a supplement of B. Infantis while avoiding common food allergens (dairy and wheat/gluten) may be recommended for the mother and baby.